Originally Posted by Litespeed
From the California Motor Vehicle hand book
Drivers must:
look carefully for bicyclists before opening doors next to moving traffic or before turning right.
safely merge toward the curb or into the bike lane.
not overtake a bicyclist just before making a right turn. Merge first, then turn.
Saw a classic "not a clue" situation yesterday... I was driving... (going for a swim actually) and in front of me and to the right (yes, in a BL) were two cyclists ascending a pretty good hill. In front of the cyclists there was a right only lane. The cyclists moved from the BL at the dashed section and into the center of the right only lane... keeping a pace of about 15MPH on this 35MPH road. A motorist who also wanted to turn right, properly merged into the turn only lane in the gap between the two cyclists. I was behind the last cyclist... happily also making a right turn.
Lady slightly forward of me and to my left had been keeping pace with the cyclists in the last hundred feet or so, from before the beginning of the right turn only lane, but she she stayed outside of the right turn lane. Turns her blinkers on, but doesn't try to merge into the right turn lane... there is more than one car length between the cyclist in front me and me. (room for her to merge) We get to the corner, and this lady to my left then tries to cut across the right turn lane in front of me (remember, I am driving... )... making a right turn from the straight thru lanes. She never tried to merge into the lane with the cyclists, even though it was an ordinary right turn lane,
and there was room to merge.
Traffic behind me also encouraged her to continue to go straight. She clearly did not merge, nor attempt to, nor plan for it.
The cyclists did everything right, there was nothing wrong with any other motorist that wanted to turn right... they easily merged in with the cyclists... but then there was Ms. clueless...
Guess she never read the handbook... probably skipped those pages as "they were for bicycles..."
